Brevity

In Brevity, David Galef provides a guide to writing flash fiction, from tips on technique to samples by canonical and contemporary authors to provocative prompts that inspire powerful stories in a little space. Galef traces the genre back to its varied origins, from the short-short to nanofiction, with examples that include vignettes, prose poems, character sketches, fables, lists, twist stories, surrealism, and metafiction. The authors range from the famous, such as Colette and Borges, to today's voices, like Roxane Gay and Bruce Holland Rogers. A writer and longtime creative writing teacher, Galef also shows how flash fiction skills translate to other types of writing. Brevity is an indispensable resource for anyone working in this increasingly popular form.

For more information, see davidgalef.com/brevity.

If I had to choose just one book for my class in writing flash fiction, it would be this one. Practical, direct, wonderful examples, fun to read—if this book doesn't energize your writing, nothing will. Robert Shapard, coeditor of Sudden Fiction: American Short-Short Stories

Brevity represents a useful addition to the range of current creative writing texts, combining an anthology of flash fiction with an analysis of the subcategories within the form and writing exercises that will inspire students. Galef's witty, welcoming tone will appeal to beginning and intermediate writers. Often, I felt so inspired by the prompts that I wanted to sit down at my computer and try the exercises myself. Eileen Pollack, author of A Perfect Life: A Novel

Brevity is a thorough introduction to the form, offering a variety of strategies for composition, as well as a wide-ranging, international anthology linked to each chapter's focus. A relentlessly generative, eclectic, instructive, entertaining, and motivational text. Michael Martone, author of The Flatness and Other Landscapes

Galef is an excellent writer, and the book throughout is a delight—he makes the reader want to immediately start writing.... He provides deft insights and suggestions on editing... and he suggests techniques that work well when applied to a small text. Best of all, each chapter provides examples of great flash fiction—from authors as different as Saki and Steve Martin—as well as ideas for readers to explore. Publishers Weekly

About the Author

David Galef has published over a dozen books, including the novels Flesh, Turning Japanese, and How to Cope with Suburban Stress; the short story collections Laugh Track and My Date with Neanderthal Woman; and the short story anthology 20 Over 40. He is a professor of English and the creative writing program director at Montclair State University.

Subjects

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